Asten

Birthdays as a kid weren’t just a date on the calendar — they were events. From karaoke chaos to flower-decorated cakes, each one feels like a little time capsule of 90s/00s life. 🎤 Age 9/10: The Living Room Karaoke Showdown We held a karaoke competition right in my living room. Everyone sang Britney Spears —… Read more

Two pop groups. Two sets of matching outfits. Two sets of choreography every Year 6 leavers’ disco kid thought they nailed. S Club 7: sunshine, positivity, TV shows, and the eternal promise that “Ain’t no party like an S Club party.” They gave us Jo, Bradley, Hannah, Tina (always doing her thing). Steps: cheesy pop… Read more

Back in the day, your entire identity could be summed up in one question: Mario or Sonic? Mario kids were loyal to Nintendo. You had the Game Boy, the SNES, maybe even the N64 if you were fancy. Mushroom Kingdom, rainbow tracks, plumbers saving princesses — wholesome chaos. Sonic kids were Team Sega. Edgier. Cooler.… Read more

Back in the mid-2000s, we weren’t just picking ringtones. We were choosing sides. Sweety the chick: cute, wholesome, a catchy little bop. She should’ve been the star of the playground. Crazy Frog: loud, obnoxious, slightly terrifying — and somehow everywhere. He had a motorbike, a chart-topping single, and… let’s just say unnecessary details in his… Read more

So, the O2 emailed me their latest lineup. I opened it thinking: “Ooh, who’s coming through this year?” …only to realise I didn’t recognise half the names. Like, are you even old enough to play the O2, babes? Or are you just here fresh from double maths? 🤣 Meanwhile, my loyalty lies firmly with JLS.… Read more

Somehow, we’ve made it here: 100 posts on Asten Does Nostalgia! Triple digits! When I first started writing about old obsessions, chaotic memories, and ridiculous cultural moments, I didn’t think I’d blink and suddenly have a whole archive of nostalgia behind me. But here we are. This blog has become my scrapbook of childhood chaos,… Read more

School’s out. You’ve dumped your bag in the hallway, grabbed a snack (probably a Fruit Winder or a Penguin bar), and plonked yourself in front of the TV. The clock says 4pm, and you know exactly what’s coming — the lineup. For us 90s/00s kids, CBBC wasn’t just background noise. It was a whole era.… Read more

Disney+ is a treasure chest that someone tipped upside down — iconic classics right next to absolute chaos. When Disney+ first launched, I thought I was signing up for princesses, Pixar, and Marvel marathons. And yes, those are all there. But what I didn’t expect was the sheer chaos vault of random stuff Disney decided… Read more

🐥 Sweety the Chick Cute, round, and living rent-free between kids’ TV shows circa the early 2000s. Who? Sweety the Chick was one of the early-2000s ringtone mascots (think Crazy Frog, but cute instead of chaotic). A round, bright-yellow chick with huge sparkly eyes and baby-voice energy, designed to make us go “awww” — and… Read more